Historicity in Organization Studies: Describing Events and Actuality at the Borders of Our Present

After presenting issues, debates, and perspectives likely to inspire and guide historical description, several examples of historical work in entrepreneurship, accounting, and organization studies are used to show situations in which researchers have had to tackle this resonance between ontology and methodology in their historiography. As soon as we go beyond the borders of our present and begin to explore remote pasts and futures, management and organization scholars are exposed to two dangers. The first is the exaggeration of continuities and anachronism about the past. The second is the projection of present ordinariness into the future. So how can we describe long-term processes of entrepreneurship, accounting, marketing, finance, information systems or innovation? This edited volume gathers a team of leading interdisciplinary scholars inspired by process philosophy, phenomenologies, and critical schools. After presenting issues, debates, and perspectives likely to inspire and guide historical description, several examples of historical work in entrepreneurship, accounting, and organization studies are used to show situations in which researchers have had to tackle this resonance between ontology and methodology in their historiography. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of management and organization studies.